UWT 27 – Experience Something Big

There are big things everywhere you look. Some are far bigger than others and there are times when you might overlook something because you see it all the time. Stop letting things blend into the background and stop and take a look.

Big things came in a variety of different packages. Stop at that building you walk past every day. Is it a public building? Go inside and find out. Check out the architecture. Is there a security guard? Who is listed in the directory? Can you get on the elevator? Take a little tour and see what kind of people are there. Don’t just go inside and be there. Look at everything once you’re inside. Look at the ceiling. How are the security cameras arranged: hidden in smoky bubbles or in plain sight? Are there signs directing you to different room numbers? Does someone stop you and ask if they can help you? Are there a lot of people in the building or is it a ghost town?

Perhaps you don’t live near a big city where you can find a building like this to go inside. Maybe you live in a more rural area. I grew up in one as well. Back where I lived we would help with debeaking turkeys. You want to see something big, look at a turkey barn. Those things are massive, noisy, and smelly. There are so many turkeys in there you’d be amazed. Each year the owner would need to pack up one of his barns and he would call on his friends. Everyone would have a part to do. Those debeaking would have gloves and clippers, the cagers would just wear gloves. Turkeys are big fans on having their beaks clipped and are even more perturbed being shoved into a cage. I got my share of scratches. You want to see something big, check out a local farm. See if the owner will let you on, perhaps give you a tour. It doesn’t have to be a farm with animals, there are a lot of different farms and they’re all huge.

Don’t have a farm or a city nearby but still want to check out something huge? Check out a local monument. It doesn’t matter where you live, there are monuments anywhere you look. Get that smart phone out and do a search for monuments, landmarks, anything local. These can come in the form of statues, parks, bells, any number of different things. Seek them out, size them up. Read the story behind it and find out what its history is. You might be surprised at just how big the history of your home town is.

Got some time? Taking a vacation? Visit somewhere big. I’ve been to a lot of places over the years. The Grand Canyon, The Redwoods, Bryce Canyon, The Rocky Mountains, The Arizona Arches. The Southwest is full of huge and majestic natural places to go. The Grand Canyon is so big that to me it doesn’t look real. From one ridge to the other the distance is so great that it starts to blur into the horizon. The Redwoods are the largest and oldest trees in the world. You can only go through a small portion of the woods, but when you get to the observation platform the trees go on forever. At least it looks that way. So many trees. Even standing on a beach and looking out over a body of water. Watching waves crash in knowing that the water goes out beyond your sight. I’ve even been to Hawaii and looked down into a volcano. The power of nature is beyond my comprehension and I can only sit back and be amazed.

Got more time? Take a road trip. Drive from point A to point B and realize the distance you traveled. When I got out of the Navy way back when I had to travel from Florida to Colorado. It took me a couple of days and I was only able to bring across half my stuff. I had to go back, pick up another load, and head back again. Heck, even when I was in the Navy, I had to drive from Southern California to Minnesota to visit some family. Then after my leave, I had to drive from Minnesota to Florida. I hit a lot of states along the way. It still amazes me how large this country is and I still haven’t seen it all. When I say experience something, I mean it. Road trips are an amazing experience. Don’t just sit in the car and let the sights pass you by. Even if you’ve taken the trip dozens of times, there are still a lot of things to see that you might have missed or that just blended into the background.

As a kid I grew up in the sticks. Way back in the woods. We would drive down to the cities (The Twin Cities) a few times a year. It was a three hour drive and at different times of the year everything looked so different. My kid brain would be amazed with how different it all looked on that trip to grandma’s house. After dozens of times going back and forth there were still things I didn’t remember on the trip before, or had forgotten, or were just plain new.

When I say experience, I mean absorb all you can. Got a camera? Take pictures so you can remember some detail you might forget. I don’t recommend doing this while driving, but if you’re a passenger, take a lot of pictures. Look around, go where people don’t always go. Don’t be afraid to stop at that scenic vista to look around.